Chilean President Michelle Bachelet named a new cabinet today, seeking to turn the page on a corruption scandal involving her son that risks derailing her ambitious reform agenda.
	Five days after making a surprise announcement that she had asked her entire cabinet to resign, Bachelet unveiled her new line-up of ministers, sacking five, including interior minister Rodrigo Penailillo, a close ally who was also her chief of staff.
	"Today it's time to give new impetus to the quality of our government," said Bachelet, Chile's first woman president.
	Penailillo will be replaced by Jorge Burgos, who was previously defense minister.
	Bachelet, 63, also replaced finance minister Alberto Arenas with the head of the national bank, Rodrigo Valdes -- the first time a Chilean leader has sacked a finance minister since the end of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship in 1990.
	In all, 18 ministers kept their jobs, four of them reassigned to different portfolios.
	Bachelet had previously announced that 

Chile's Bachelet names new cabinet amid scandal

PTI Automatic

Chinese search engine giant Baidu often described as the country's equivalent of Google said today it has has launched anti-corruption investigations into its own employees after reports three department heads were being probed.
	Baidu did not reveal any details of its inquiries, nor confirm how many were being investigated or their names.
	"Internal anti-corruption action creates a just and transparent working environment, and a sound environment for workers' development," the company said in a statement to AFP.
	"We call on all employees to respect company ethics and national laws, to create a healthy and just working environment," it said.
	Chinese Internet portal Sina reported Monday that Baidu was investigating three departmental directors.
	President Xi Jinping launched a much-publicised drive against corruption after he came to power two years ago, vowing to target both high-level "tigers" and low-ranking "flies".
	But rather than the Communist party's feared internal watchdog, 

China's Baidu probing own execs for graft: company

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife Sara has hit back at what she says is a smear campaign over her alleged mistreatment of domestic employees, media reported today.
	She railed that her "blood has been spilled publicly" at an ongoing trial yesterday over her alleged abuse of the former caretaker at the premier's residence, just months after she was alleged to have pocketed public funds through bottle deposits.
	"It's hard to be Sara Netanyahu with what they do to us, spilling blood," newspapers quoted her as saying.
	In March, former caretaker Meni Naftali sued the prime minister's office and the Netanyahus for 650,000 shekels (USD 170,000, 150,000 euros) in compensation for alleged abuse, in a lawsuit that saw petty recriminations aired by both sides.
	Naftali was quoted by Ynet news website as saying that in nearly two years of employment between 2011 and 2012, he was treated in a "patronising way".
	He said this included "uncontrolled tongue-lashings" from Sara ...

Israel PM's wife hits back after employee abuse claims

Starring in music videos at the age of 100, Eileen Kramer is probably the oldest working dancer and choreographer in Australia, if not the world - and the centenarian revels in her age.
	"I don't mind. I'm 100!," she laughs from the Sydney rehearsal of a music video in which she is performing. "I'm liberated. I don't have to be 35 all the time."
	Conversation with Kramer moves swiftly - from how she used to eavesdrop on philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre in a Paris cafe, to modelling for famous artists, to Louis Armstrong teaching her to do the twist.
	She puts her life's unusual trajectory down to seeing, at the age of 24, a performance by Sydney's Bodenwieser Ballet, run by Viennese immigrant Madame Gertrud Bodenwieser, who had fled to Australia via Colombia after escaping the Nazis.
	Kramer tried out for the troupe and was accepted to classes. She recalls that after her first session she felt "free" - and within three years was a member of the company.
	Although named the Bodenwieser ...

Aged 100, Australian dancer still hears call of the stage

One person was killed and four wounded today when a Saudi city near the Yemeni border came under renewed bombardment, the civil defence department said.
	The latest fatality brings to 11 the death toll in Saudi Arabia since Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen began firing rockets and mortar rounds over the border last week.
	Civil defence spokesman Ali al-Shahrani told Saudi news channel Al-Ekhbariya that a school and a residential area in Najran came under fire at 7:00 am local time.
	He did not specify the source of the bombardment but said one person was killed. Three foreigners and a child were wounded.
	The Saudi-led coalition which has been bombing the Huthis in Yemen since March 26 said on Thursday that they had crossed a "red line" with their deadly cross-border fire.
	The coalition has retaliated by declaring the whole of Saada province -- a Huthi stronghold on the border -- a military target and pounding it with air strikes and artillery fire.
	Coalition spokesman Brigadier General 

One dead as Saudi city near Yemen border comes under fire

Nearly 2,000 boat people from Myanmar and Bangladesh have been rescued or swum to shore in Malaysia and Indonesia, authorities said today, warning that still more desperate migrants could be in peril at sea.
	The spate of arrivals comes as Thailand, a key stop on a Southeast Asian people-smuggling route, cracks down following the discovery of mass graves that has laid bare the extent of the thriving trade.
	Thousands of impoverished Muslim Rohingya -- a minority unwanted by Myanmar's government -- and Bangladeshis brave a perilous sea and land trafficking route through Thailand and into Malaysia, Indonesia and beyond every year.
	Malaysian police said people-smugglers had dumped at least 1,018 hungry migrants in shallow waters off the coast of the resort island of Langkawi since yesterday.
	One boat was still stuck on a breakwater offshore but the others are believed to have fled to sea.
	"We know that there are more boats out there that want to come in," Langkawi police chief Haritth 

Nearly 2,000 boat people including Rohingya rescued in SE Asia

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will this month visit four South American countries, including Brazil, officials said today, as Beijing seeks to build its influence in the region.
	Li's visit to Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Chile comes after President Xi Jinping visited resource-rich Latin America last July.
	Li "will pay official visits to the four countries from May 18 to May 26", foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters at a regular briefing in Beijing.
	China has been steadily building ties with South America, which is traditionally considered the backyard of the United States.
	Xi's visit to Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba and Argentina last July was his second to the region since taking office as head of state in 2013.
	China's trade with Latin America has surged as Beijing remains on the lookout for resources to power its remarkable economic growth.
	Earlier this year Beijing hosted leaders from 30 Latin American and Caribbean countries in the region for a China-CELAC ...

Chinese Premier Li to visit South America: Beijing

A baby giraffe which was denied her mother's milk has died of malnutrition in Taipei zoo despite a two-month-long battle to save her.
	The fate of "Hsiao He" -- whose 10-year-old mother was also born in the zoo but who refused to feed her calf -- made headlines in online media and on television.
	"The mother was very nervous. She stayed away when her baby tried to approach for milk. For unknown reasons, the baby had since refused to open her mouth," Taipei Zoo spokesman Eric Tsao told AFP.
	Hsiao He, who weighed 59 kilograms (130 pounds) at birth, died early Sunday weighing only 68 kilograms despite round-the-clock care by a team of zookeepers.
	The spokesman said zookeepers had struggled in vain to persuade Hsiao He to accept goat's milk from a feeding bottle.
	"We still don't know why she would not open her mouth," he said, adding she may not have had a peer to learn from.

Taipei zoo loses long battle to save baby giraffe

A military court in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip today jailed a Palestinian convicted of "spying" for Israel to 15 years, judicial sources said.
	In March two other men were given the same sentence for the same offence.
	Under Palestinian law, those convicted of collaboration with Israel, murder and drug trafficking face the death penalty.
	Execution orders must be approved by the Palestinian president before they can be carried out, but Hamas no longer recognises the legitimacy of Mahmud Abbas whose four-year term ended in 2009.
	The militant Islamist Hamas has carried out formal executions ordered by its courts and summary, sometimes public, killings of "collaborators" condemned by "revolutionary tribunals".
	During last year's summer war with Israel in Gaza, men wearing uniforms of the armed wing of Hamas riddled with bullets six alleged collaborators outside Gaza City's main mosque as worshippers left after midday prayers.

Hamas jails Gazan for 15 years for spying for Israel

A Canadian woman gave birth aboard a plane to Tokyo after going into labour over the Pacific Ocean, a spokesman for Air Canada said today, an event the baby's father described as "completely unexpected".
	The 23-year-old woman delivered a baby girl mid-air with the help of a doctor who volunteered after crew asked passengers for medical help.
	The plane was given priority to land at Narita Airport, just outside the Japanese capital, but by the time it taxied to a halt, it had one more passenger than it had started with.
	"I couldn't imagine. This happened completely unexpectedly," the father, whose name was not revealed, told Japanese television.
	"It turned out to be a beautiful baby girl," he added, showing a snap of the little bundle taken on his smartphone.
	The Air Canada plane from Calgary bound for Narita landed 30 minutes ahead of schedule after being bumped up the queue by air traffic controllers.
	The new mum was seen emerging from the plane in a wheelchair, while her ...

Air smiles: Canadian woman gives birth on Japan flight

Britain's Prince Harry said today he wants to have children and would like a partner to "share the pressure" of royal duties, but is still waiting for the right woman.
	The fifth in line to the throne made the comments in New Zealand where he is relaxing after calling time on a decade-long military career, saying he felt "at a crossroads".
	He said the birth of brother William's second child Princess Charlotte last week had increased his desire for a family of his own.
	"Of course, I would love to have kids right now, but there's a process that one has to go through," he told Britain's Sky News.
	"Tours like this are great fun, hopefully I'm doing alright by myself. It would be great to have someone else next to me to share the pressure. But, you know, time will come and whatever happens, happens I guess."
	The 30-year-old, who split from girlfriend Cressida Bonas last year, railed against being labelled "the party prince".
	"I never wanted that," he said, adding that he was looking ..

Prince Harry says he's looking for love, wants kids

Sweden's Supreme Court today said it had rejected an appeal by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange against his arrest warrant for alleged rape and sexual assault.
	Sweden issued the arrest warrant in 2010 following allegations from two Swedish women, one who claimed rape and another who alleged sexual assault.
	The Australian former hacker has been ensconced in Ecuador's embassy in London since 2012 to avoid extradition to the Scandinavian country.
	"The Supreme Court notes that investigators have begun efforts to question Julian Assange in London. The Supreme Court finds no reason to lift the arrest warrant," it said in a statement.
	Swedish prosecutors offered in March to question Assange in London, dropping their previous demand that he come to Sweden to answer to the allegations, making a significant U-turn in the case that has been deadlocked for nearly five years.
	Assange, who faces arrest if he tries to leave the Ecuadorian embassy, has always vehemently denied the allegations ...

Swedish Supreme Court rejects Assange appeal

Francois Hollande arrived in Havana, the first French president to visit Cuba in more than a century, cementing Paris's lead in the EU rapprochement with the communist island.
	Hollande is the first Western leader to visit Cuba since a surprise announcement in December by Havana and Washington that the former Cold War foes would move to normalize relations after half a century of bad blood.
	Hollande arrived at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport at 22:50 (0250 GMT Monday) and was greeted by Cuba's Deputy Foreign Minister Rogelio Sierra, the latest leg of a whirlwind five-day tour of the Caribbean.
	"I come to Cuba with great emotion because it is the first time that a president of the French Republic has come to Cuba," he has said on arrival.
	No French leader has visited Cuba since the island nation gained independence in 1898.
	"There are historic ties, deep ties, between the people of France and the people of Cuba," said Hollande, applauding Cuba's long-time commitment to ...

France's Hollande arrives in Cuba on historic visit

Four Colombian soldiers were killed and two others were wounded when their helicopter crashed in the central Uribe region, the military said.
	The UH-60L Black Hawk, US-manufactured helicopter was ferrying supplies when the accident occurred at about 2:00 pm (1700 GMT), the army said in a statement.
	The aircraft was believed to have crashed after encountering technical problems.
	"We send our condolences to the families and friends of these soldiers who gave their lives in the line of duty," said the statement, which was signed by the head of the army.
	The helicopter pilot was among the four dead, and the two injured were taken from the crash site and are in stable condition.

Four soldiers killed in Colombia helicopter crash

Two people were killed after a powerful storm grazed the country's northeastern tip over the weekend, civil defence officials said today.
	Many of the people who evacuated from the storm's path started to return home late last night, after Noul -- the fourth and strongest storm to hit the Philippines so far this year -- whipped coastal villages with wind gusts of up to 220 kilometres per hour.
	Authorities said they were not expecting significant casualties after most heeded pre-emptive evacuation orders issued from Friday.
	"People listened to our warnings. They've learned their lesson from past storms," Norma Talosig, civil defence director for the northeastern region, told AFP.
	A 70-year-old man and his 45-year-old son died after being electrocuted while fixing their house in Aparri town last morning as Typhoon Noul started to bear down.
	The state weather bureau said the winds were strong enough to stir storm surges, uproot trees, blow roofs off houses, topple lamp posts and ...

2 dead after powerful typhoon passes north Philippines

Four boats carrying some 1,400 Rohingya migrants were rescued off the coasts of Indonesia and Malaysia today, officials said, a day after nearly 600 others arrived in a wooden vessel off Indonesia's Aceh.
	All the boats appear to have been abandoned as Thailand, their usual destination, cracks down on the trafficking of ethnic Rohingya Muslims bound for neighbouring countries, after the discovery of dozens of remains in mass graves at "slave camps" in the Thai south.
	More than 1,000 migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar landed in Malaysia after being dumped by human traffickers in shallow waters off the resort island of Langkawi, police said.
	"We think there were three boats that ferried 1,018 migrants," said Langkawi deputy police chief Jamil Ahmed, adding that the number was expected to grow as more migrants are picked up around the island.
	In the early hours of today, Indonesian search and rescue teams discovered another boat drifting off east Aceh with 400 men, women and ...

About 1,400 migrants rescued off Indonesia, Malaysia

A powerful North Korean general who Seoul believes was behind the sinking of a South Korean warship and the shelling of one of its islands in 2010 has died, state media said today.
	Kim Kyok-Sik died yesterday of respiratory failure while suffering from an unidentified type of cancer, according to Rodong Shinmun, the newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party. He was 77.
	"The comrade served in very important positions... In the military for a long time, making great contributions to firmly protect our socialist motherland," it said.
	The four-star general was named by South Korea as being the operational commander behind the sinking of the Cheonan navy corvette in March 2010 and the shelling eight months later of the border island of Yeonpyeong.
	A South Korean-led investigation involving a team of international experts concluded the Cheonan was sunk by a North Korean submarine torpedo and Seoul cut trade and aid links to Pyongyang in response.
	Pyongyang has always denied any ...

N Korea general allegedly behind attacks on South dies

Pep Guardiola has promised embattled Bayern Munich will put up a fight in tomorrow's Champions League semi-final, second-leg, in their near-impossible bid to deny Barcelona an eighth final appearance.
     Bayern are chasing a miracle at the Allianz Arena after their humbling 3-0 first-leg defeat at the Camp Nou last Wednesday when Lionel Messi capped a dazzling display with two goals.
     No team has ever over-turned a three-goal deficit in a European semi-final.
     "We all know it's going to be a mammoth task, but we're not going to give up," said Bayern forward Thomas Mueller.
     Bayern believe they can claim a historic win with Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger suggesting: "Sometimes unbelievable things happen in football and we hope we're going to catch one of those days".
     But their confidence has been dented by losing their last four games since winning the German league for the 25th time a fortnight ago and the losing streak is their longest since 1991.
     In ..

Bayern need Munich miracle to deny Barcelona

Atletico Madrid secured their place in the Champions League for next season despite only managing a 2-2 draw at Levante as Sevilla were held 1-1 at Celta Vigo.
     A point for both sides yesterday means that Atletico lead the Europa League champions by seven points with just two games remaining.
     Atletico now need three points from their final two fixtures at home to Barcelona and away to Granada to guarantee third place ahead of Valencia and avoid a qualifier for the group stages in August.
     The La Liga champions started brightly at the Ciutat de Valencia, but couldn't find a way past Diego Marino as Mario Mandzukic's three-month goal drought continued when the Levante 'keeper got down brilliantly to save the Croatian's header nine minutes in.
     Juanfran then made a fine clearance at the other end to prevent Jose Luis Morales applying the finishing touch to an incisive counter-attack by the hosts.
     Levante did go in front just after the half-hour mark when Miranda's ..

Sevilla slip-up hands Atletico Champions League return

South Korea will respond "mercilessly" to any further North Korean provocation, its defence minister said today, after Pyongyang announced the successful test-fire of a new submarine-launched ballistic missile.
	The SLBM launch was believed to have taken place on Friday under the personal supervision of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, who described it as an "eye-opening success" that provided his military with a "world-level strategic weapon".
	The exact nature of the test has yet to be independently confirmed, with some experts suggesting it was an ejection test, rather than a full flight test, with the missile only travelling a few hundred meters.
	According to the South Korean military, the North followed up Saturday by test firing three anti-ship cruise missiles on the back of threats to target South Korean naval boats Pyongyang accuses of violating their disputed maritime border.
	In a security meeting with ruling Saenuri party officials in Seoul, Defence Minister Han Min-Koo ...

S Korea vows 'merciless' response to North provocation

Migrants in Libya face "cruelty" and abuse, driving many people to risk their lives in dangerous Mediterranean crossings aimed at reaching sanctuary in Europe, Amnesty International said today.
	For years Libya has been a stepping stone for Africans seeking a better life in Europe. Syrian refugees fleeing the conflict at home are also making their way to Libya to try to reach the West.
	"The ghastly conditions for migrants, coupled with spiralling lawlessness and armed conflicts raging within the country, make clear just how dangerous life in Libya is today," said Amnesty's Philip Luther.
	The situation has worsened since the NATO-backed 2011 uprising that toppled veteran dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with powerful militias battling for Libya's oil wealth and two governments vying for power.
	Feeding on the chaos, people smugglers have stepped up their lucrative trade. The flow of migrants also rises when sea conditions improve in warmer months.
	"With no legal avenues to escape and seek ..

AFP

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